..:wedding attire:..

Last week, my brother-in-law tied the knot with his beautiful bride

at their lovely wedding in Phoenix. As the youngest of five, he has

the good fortune of being the "cool" uncle to 11.5 adoring

nieces and nephews.

I am not quite sure why I volunteered to take on the

daunting project of outfitting these wonderful

children. I think it had to do something with

the fact that black/white/periwinkle are nearly extinct hues

for youngsters during the winter months. Also, it

is quite difficult to find coordinating dress-wear

for the age range of 9 months up to 10 years old.

And, maybe I kind of wanted to take on the challenge.

I blame it on my independent, oldest child, Idahoan

nature that makes me do such things to myself.

Here is the whole motley crew, in what can only

be called a miracle shot, being that they are all

together and happy. Even if they are all looking

at different cameras.......

My niece, Abigail, was happy to strike a pose. She is

a natural in front of the camera, I found.

Here are the girls (minus one very hungry baby).

Please disregard my daughter's navy flower, I have some

color issues. Also, I thought it would be fun to mix

things up with two in skirts and the others in

dresses but after seeing them all together,

I think all dresses would have been the way to go.

I used a simple vintage A-line dress pattern, added a slight

mock-neck collar and some puffy sleeves, and some bias trim

for a contrasting hem.

And, the boys. I made their ties using this tutorial. It was my first time with ties

so they weren't perfect but I found the instructions easy

to follow and I will definitely try it again. My little

guy got a bow tie which was surprisingly easy, a good thing

since it was a 1 a.m.-night-before-leaving-project.

Now, I think I am going to send my beloved Bernina on a little

vacation. At least for a few months because I really

thought she was ready to blow at some point in

mid-December.....

cupcake apron

I made this fun apron for a teacher at my kids' school.

Ric-rac just has the ability to make things a whole

lot better.

My New Years Resolution:

Use More Ric Rac.

....as the (sewing) world turns....

Whew! It has been a while. Not for lack of projects, rather, for lack of any time to blog about them. It seems like once October starts, I need to strap myself down tightly in preparation for the wild ride of self-imposed creative stress that comes with the holidays falling right on top of each other until this moment. Now, as the new year begins, I am able to look back and wonder what all the fuss was about and dream of somehow getting an early start next time around.

Back at the beginning of October, a friend invited me to be a part of a local craft show. It sounded innocent enough at the time so I enthusiastically agreed. Fast forward to a couple of days before the show in December, and I was in an absolute panic. Where had all my time gone? I don't know, but there were a lot of aprons and girly head decor whipped up in a matter of hours.

The funny thing is, that after all the stress of wanting everything to be just right, the craft show was not well attended and only a few of my things actually went home with new owners. I was disappointed mostly in the hours I had wasted and the sleep that I missed out on. Luckily within a week, everything I had prepared was sold via word-of-mouth or given away as holiday gifts. I didn't even get a photo of everything but here is a smattering of apron-fun......

last minute Christmas wish fulfilled!

My daughter only had one item

on her Christmas list this year:

Her very own "workshop" 

I wasn't sure what she had in mind,

but I was determined not to add any more 

store-bought mammoth contraptions 

into our house.  I just managed to

get rid of my girls' beauty shop

and baby care center, and the kids

kitchen will be the next to go.  

I saw this card table playhouse idea

a couple of weeks before the big day,

and then skedaddled to get myself

some felt!

After being heavily inspired by this cute etsy shop, 

I sketched out my four walls and started cutting.

After reading through a bunch of tutorials, I think the best

advice was to finish each of the four walls separately

and then sew them all together at the end.

My goal was to make it fun and cute but

not so feminine that the little brother

couldn't hang out as well.

In the end, my daughter was so

excited and proceeded to drag

all of her other gifts inside to

open at her leisure.  

She spent most of the day in her

little "workshop" and even

dragged her blankets inside

for a campout that night.  I

put little tap lights under the table

which really boosted the fun factor.

Not bad for a gift under $30.  Luckily, 

felt (and 5 year olds) are very forgiving so the 

stress/time were pretty minimal.  

.:new dresses:.

I have been saving this Amy Butler fabric for a couple of years, waiting for the right

project to inspire me to cut into it.

I used a vintage pattern from the 60's for the first dress and then made one to coordinate for my younger daughter in a more simple style.

I wish I had more time and creativity to do this more often. I know that they won't

be excited to wear my projects for much longer=)

::a "tiny" party::

Martha Stewart is a good woman.

I picked up one of her party kits at Michael's on clearance last year and had almost forgotten about it sitting in my basement gathering dust.

One of my daughters turned five last week so we pulled it out a few days before her party and I was so glad we did.

The theme was a "tiny" party which worked out great for my tiny girl and a few of her friends that were invited with tiny invitations.

When they first arrived, they had some tiny playtime with polly pockets and a dollhouse and colored pictures on tiny pieces of paper. Then they played a few tiny games like sardines and birdie, birdie, mouse (the tiny animals they thought of in lieu of ducks or a goose).

Then, they had a tiny lunch with tiny plates, cups, and forks. We served mini pizzas, tater tots, baby carrots, grapes, baby goldfish, stick pretzels, and mini marshmallows.

We finished things off with some tiny cupcakes, tiny party hats, and goodie boxes to send home.

She opened a few presents and then they all got on the bus together, headed for kindergarten. It was very simple, the girls had a great time, and there was minimal stress and clean up afterwards. I'm not sure if it was the lack of a character to plan around or the novelty of something different but I actually enjoyed the planning AND the execution of everything. And, that doesn't happen very often.

Thank you, Martha.

.::Bake Sale::.

My projects have been few and far between this summer, with the kids all at home and needing my complete attention.  So, I have to take the few opportunities I can find, and run with them.  My son's baseball team hosted a tournament this past weekend and as a fundraiser, a few of us crazy moms decided to host a bake sale.  And, really........can you have a bake sale without matching aprons for the help??  I didn't think so.  

Halle modeled for us while Amy (visiting from Spain!!) got her photo/crafty fix behind the camera.   Oh, the fun we would have and the time we would waste if she were here all the time.

  

Work it, girl.

The lovely ladies before the big sale, and the big rain, and the lack of customers.........

They made up for it by going mobile......and for good reason.  Could you resist these gals and a box of donuts??